The Influence of Marxism in Australian Universities & Society

Karl Marx was one of the most celebrated, yet misconstrued philosophers of our time. His ideology was adopted by many systems throughout history, for models on economic and political structure. At the heart of Marxism exists a central relation between class and power within institutions of society. Universities are institutions which embody much of Marx's ideology on co-operation, wealth, consciousness and political rights. In particular, the purpose of this essay is to examine how Australian universities essentially reflect Marx's ideas on the importance of economic development and structure. The structure of Australian universities will support my argument that we as university students reflect the Marxist ideal that we are all contributors to an economic superstructure and a capitalist reality. Firstly, the main concepts of Marx's ideology will be discussed, especially economic structure and political theory. Secondly, the impact of religion on university life and students within these institutions will be contrasted and compared with Marxist ideals of economics, materialism and idealism. Finally, the core parallels that exist between Marxism and today's Australian universities will explain the roles Marxist theory play in university life and the broader society. Many misconceptions about Marxism have been formed in the past few decades, and while Marxism is broad and its ideology consists of other concepts, these areas fall beyond the scope of my investigation and therefore will not be examined in the following essay. Ideology is defined as the set of beliefs and values in a society that can be explained by the economic structure. Ideology in Marx's sense is not an idiosyncratic complex of beliefs and attitudes caused by a unique set of experiences, but a figure of thought shared by many people and caused by whatever is common in their situation (Elster, 1986). The recognition of ideological thought and philosophy began during the Enlightment. The Enlightment period also influenced universities; new subjects were integrated and taught and student's minds were broadened and liberated with truths', in consistent with the Church at the time. There were new direction in theology, medicine, arts and science. At the heart of the Enlightment were two monumental concepts. The first was a reappraisal of the human condition that led to the conception of universal human rights. The second was a belief in the inevitability of progress. Both led to cries for social, economic, governmental reforms, and both owed much to conceptual changes in natural philosophy. Marx's political ideology centrally argues the relation between the special interest of a given class and the general interests of society. The nature of the economic structure of a society determines the nature of its political and legal superstructures. The idea that the economic power of the ruling class must be protected and consolidated is Marx's second thesis. To paraphrase Marx, "The ideas of the ruling class are nothing more than the ideal expression of the dominant material which make one class the ruling one..." Marx's ideology has often embodied materialism because it was adopted by Communist states in conflicts regarding the working class and the economy. However, this view is incorrect, as Marx endeavoured to create a kind of economic system where the position a person occupied, determined his or her consciousness' (Clark, 1983). What shapes and maintains ideological thinking in Marxism is the interest of the ruling class. On this point Marxism deviates from the Freudian conception of false consciousness, according to which it is necessarily the interest of the person himself that distorts his thinking, not that of some other person or class (Hands, 2000). Freud theory assumes false consciousness is accompanied by an unconscious awareness of the true state of affairs  an awareness that the person is repressed, substituting a false representation for...

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

...﻿MarxismMarxism started in its early years as an economic and sociopolitical worldview and method of socioeconomic inquiry centered upon a materialist interpretation of history, a dialectical view of social change, and an analysis–critique of the development of capitalism. In the early-to-mid 19th century, the intellectual development of Marxism was pioneered by two German philosophers, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. As an ideology, Marxism encompasses an economic theory, a sociological theory, and a revolutionary view of social change.
Since the late 19th century, Marxism has been internally divided, between proponents of orthodox Marxism and proponents of revisionist Marxism, and between the respective revolutionary and reformist branches. The revolutionary, Bolshevik leader, Lenin, said that “the supersession of the bourgeois state by the proletarian state is impossible without violent revolution”. In contrast to the initial Marxist advocacy of revolution, the Reformist and democratic socialist political theorist Michael Harrington proposed that, in later life, Engels and Marx had advocated the development of socialism through parliamentary means, where-ever possible. Marxist understandings of history and of society have been adopted by academics in the disciplines of archaeology and anthropology, media studies, political science, theater, history,...

...﻿
Historical materialism is a very interesting and complex idea, with many intricacies and possible implications. It can have applications in many different ways in society, including areas like class struggle and economic development. Due to how in-depth historical materialism can be, its discussion and implications can become extensive.
Historical materialism is a theory regarding society, economics, and history that was first theorized by Karl Marx, in what can be described as a materialist conception of history. The theory is based around the idea that socioeconomic development occurs depending upon the changes in material conditions, like technology and production capacity, and these factors are the primary influence on how society and the economy are capable of being organized. According to the Marxist website, In Defence of Marxism, “historical materialism is the part of Karl Marx’s theory maintaining that social structures derive from economic structures and that these are transformed as a result of class struggles, each ruling class producing another, which will overcome and destroy it, the final phase being the emergence of a communist society.” (Marxist.com)
In essence, historical materialism is a way of taking Marxist theories on science, and then applying them to historical developments, in order to find corollary. According to Mick Brooks in Marxist.com, the “fundamental...

...﻿
Police Influence on Society
Erika Hall
CJA/344
Gearlean Lloyd
May 4, 2015
Police influence on society should be a positive influence because law enforcement has been put in place to protect and to serve while maintaining order within the community. The way of policing went from all white males to black and white men to females and minorities. This paper will not only entail how historical policing relates to the present but how the current relationship between officers and the community are affected mainly within the African American community or urban neighborhoods while describing the history of the three different policing eras.
The United States patterned its policing practices from that of Sir Robert Peel and the Metropolitan Police by protecting its citizens for the good of all. Sir Robert Peel had Nine Principles of Policing which have transferred to the United States and practiced throughout the nations that practice modern policing. The Nine Principles: 1. The basic mission for which the police exist is to prevent crime and disorder. 2. The ability of the police to perform on their duties is dependent upon public approval of police actions by securing and maintaining public respect. 3. Police must secure the willing cooperation of the public in voluntary observance of the law to be able to secure and maintain the respect of the public. 4. The degree of cooperation of the...

...OUTLINE THE CONTRIBUTION OF MARXISM TO OUR UNDERSTANDING OF SOCIETYMarxism is an ideology based on the economic and political theories of Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels. Karl Marx who was born in Germany in 1818 was a revolutionary whose ideas on society were the foundation of communism. Under modern capitalism the means of production, such as factories, land, and technology are controlled by a small minority who Marx called the bourgeoisie. Production is carried out by the working class, known as the proletarians who have to sell their labour or face poverty or starvation. Taken together these two classes form the economic base of society, what Marx called the substructure. Marx saw that there was conflict between these two divisions and that this could only be resolved by a revolution, which would lead to a classless society, where the means of production would be held collectively. All Marx’s theories use social class as a starting point for analysis. In this essay we will explore two areas where Marx’s theories have had influence, crime and deviance and education. Marx saw the bourgeoisie as controlling these institutions. Marxists believe that these institutions form part of the superstructure of society with the economy as its base.
Marx believed that crime was a product of poverty and the law is manipulated by the ruling class for their own...

...requirements are normally that of structural sociology’ (Calhoun, C et al 2002) However Marxism a conflict theory of sociology takes exactly this focus when analysing how an individual creates an identity and relationship within society. Marxism as a Macro-theory of sociology focuses on ‘human agents as cogs in the machine of social forces’ (Calhoun, C et al 2002) who have little or no control over the development of their identities, because of the overpowering social superstructure which is dictating a social hierarchy of which they are forced to obey. This large scale view of society as over powering in the formation of one’s identity is not that taken by ‘Micro-sociologist who emphasise the social system as being a human creation, rather than one which is imposed on individuals by the system; thus micro sociologists see social order as being produced from below […] created and maintained by the institutions we actively produce.” (Calhoun, C et al 2002) It is this explanation of micro-sociologists like Mead which give room to theories like his of the symbolic self which belong within the category of action theories; and more closely associated with Symbolic Interactionism.
This essay will explore and analysis the theories put forward by both Marx and Mead in their approach to sociology and will more closely concentrate on their beliefs of how individuals form identities and relationships within...

...Marxism & Education
Karl Marx (1818-1883)-Conflict Theory
-born in Trier
-home schooled
-attended the local gymnasium
-1835 University of Bonn
-1836 University of Berlin
-1841 receives his PhD from the University of Jena
-editor of Rhineland Newspaper
-1847 Brussels- Theory of Economic Determinism
Communist Manifesto 1849
-view of society and social class relationship
-bourgeoise/capitalists/industrialists
-lower middle class-aka vanguard of proletariat- a mall group of bourgeoise (small manufactures and small business owners) that would detach themselves from the bourgeoisie and would lead the revolution
-proletariats(working class)
-dialect materialism- the conflict between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat
-Marx in his Communist Manifesto predicted that the final struggle to control the means and modes of production would result in the proletariat revolution (through violent means) to produce social, economic, and political change.
-2 institutions of social repression
-the nation/state
-loyalty to the national state
-schooling
-an instrument of social control and Marx’s institutions to put revolutionary theory into practice.
Neo-Marxism and educational implications
-the Hidden Curriculum
-schools socializes students into the norms and values of the dominant group and the modern capitalist culture.
-based...

...Williams
Dr. Vayo
ENGL 101.06
6 December 2012
“As the Middle Children, We Fight to Leave our Marx”
Karl Marx, the founder of Marxism, believed that in an industrialized society the working class would revolt and take over the ruling class, which would in effect create a classless society, taking everyone back to zero. Marx’s concepts are simple: in order to grasp the true meaning of happiness, people must separate themselves from their materialistic tendencies as well as each in order to refocus on themselves as individuals, much as Tyler Durden displays in the movie Fight Club. Although critically acclaimed by The New York Times to be a “sardonic testosterone-fueled science fiction” (New York Times 1999), the film Fight Club, actually takes it root in many of Karl Marx’s beliefs. Despite the films underlying indications of Tyler Durden’s Marxist ideas, many viewers don’t pick up on the similarities and leave them to go unnoticed. Viewers of the film need to understand that Marxism is the leading internal influence in film Fight Club and that Tyler Durden, is in fact, a Marxist.
The sociology of Karl Marx is evidenced through many different aspects including, the two main characters whom are Tyler Durden and the Narrator, as well as the development of Fight Club, and the later development of Project Mayhem. In order to understand how Marxism is intertwined with the film, the two...

...﻿Assess the contribution of Marxism to our understanding of society
[33 marks]
Marxism is a macro/structural approach to society, meaning that it looks at the large-scale societal structure for answers about how society works and operates. They believe that structure is categorised into two kinds of structure; the infrastructure and the superstructure.
They believe the infrastructure is made up of the economic base and is made up of the social relations between the producers and who owns the means of production. The superstructure however is made up of the social institutions of the modern day society. These can include agents of social control such as the family and the education system. Considering this it’s easy to see that they believe the superstructure is imposed around the infrastructure.
Marxism at it’s core, is about the class struggle, however, between the two groups isolated in the Infrastructure. Those whom own the means of production, and those whom use the means of production. The groups are called the Bourgeoisie, or ruling class, and the Proletariat, or working class. Most of the Maxist perspective is based on observations of the fast paced development of the western world, particularly the Capitalist countries however, as that is what they blame most, if not everything on, because they believe in the Capitalist society, the owners of the means...